UNITED NATIONS — In a surprisingly strong rebuke of Moscow, the UN General Assembly on Thursday affirmed Ukraine's territorial integrity and deemed the referendum that led to Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula illegal. The vote on the Ukraine-sponsored resolution in the 193-member world body was 100 countries in favor, 11 opposed and 58 abstentions. Twenty-four countries did not vote. While Ukraine has a lot of sympathy among UN member states, Russia has a lot of clout. Both sides lobbied hard ahead of the vote, and diplomats had predicted a significant number of abstentions and a maximum 80 to 90 countries supporting the resolution. So the high number of “yes” votes, representing more than half the 193 UN member states, was a sign of international anger at Moscow's slow-motion military invasion of Crimea. – AP
